Here in the UK Depends are totally different from the US variety, and much much better quite a decent product infact, despite the fact they are clothbacked they don't tend to stretch the way other clothbacked nappies do, the absorbency it fairly decent also.

Woah easy Slomo!
I'm not incontinent nor am I planning to rely on them or flood them just maybe get a pack if they had plastic back 'for old time sake', see what they're like.I k

True, for not planning to fully use them, cheaply made diapers can work for intermittent use.

Kind of a moot point right now though, since depends no longer makes a plastic backed diaper. What they do have is even worse though, and don't function for anything more than the lightest of incontinence problems. I have heard rumors they are planning to bring plastic diapers back though, so who knows....

In the US they stopped making the plastic backed diapers for s period of time but brought them back earlier this year. They are relatively unchanged from the previous plastic backed version. Still about the same absorbency.

They aren't enough to contain my overnight bladder buildup or my morning to noon bladder where I pee more often and with greater volume. But they can somewhat work for a few hours in the afternoon and also I can get by with one from evening until I go to bed.

Well, I think they decided that there were two distinct markets. The underwear which is as undewear-like cloth-like as they can get (Silhouettes, RealFit, Active Fit, Night Defense), which appearance and comfort are important, and the MAX ABSORBENCY where function dictates other marketing issues.

The clothlike Depend Maximum Protection were a disaster, and yes they have returned to plastic backed.. unfortunately they are a bit pricier now $17/20pcs instead of $12/20pcs. In my experience Depend Max Protection are the bottom rung of 'usable' diapers, slightly less capacity that Tranquility ATNs, but it is all usable capacity (Tranquility ATNs do not wick out so they may get saturated and crumbly and eventually leak in the crotch, but remain completely dry every where else). When they were $12/20pcs i could double them up and get great results at $1.20 a change.. but $1.70 a change starts getting into premium diaper prices.

Still good to have them out there as there are no other plastic backed diapers readily available to my knowledge.